Spanish broadcaster TVE has reportedly urged their 'Eurovision' entrant Pastora Soler not to win the contest due to the country's economic crisis.
Soler has entered the contest with her ballad 'Quedate Conmigo (Stay With Me)' but has revealed to ABC Punto Radio that TVE bosses joked 'Please don't win!' before she jetted off to Baku in Azerbaijan where the competition is held this year. 'If we won, I think it would be impossible to stage the next edition because it costs so much money', she said. Spain is fighting a particularly serious recession and currently has an unemployment rate of almost 25 per cent. Numerous measures have had to be taken in order to save money where possible, including TV cuts which have resulted in many popular Spanish TV shows being cancelled.
The TVE situation is reminiscent of a 'Father Ted' episode where Ted enters a similar competition with a deliberately terrible song to make sure Ireland aren't asked to host the next one. The last time Spain won the 'Eurovision Song Contest' was in 1969 - twelve years after the show first aired - and they tied with the UK, the Netherlands and France with Massiel's song 'La La La'. Finalists of 2012's 'Eurovision' include the UK, France, Germany, Azerbaijan and 22 others.